Teachers across the province started their second week of rotating strikes Monday. Vancouver teachers are to picket June 6.
The government has suspended some teachers’ duties and hours of work. Teachers’ pay is being docked 10 per cent, in response to teachers curtailing dealings with administrators in their first phase of job action. The Labour Relations Board is expected to rule on the pay cut Wednesday.
What do teachers earn, anyway?
- According to the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, most full-time teachers in Vancouver hold a bachelor’s degree and a bachelor’s of education and start at a salary of $48,083 a year. These teachers’ salaries increase over 10 years to $74,353.
- • Teachers with the two degrees plus a master’s or doctorate earn between $52,823 and $81,488.
The average teacher in B.C. in 2011-2012 had worked 12.6 years and earned a salary of $73,291, according to the Ministry of Education.
The BCTF seeks an estimated 13.7 per cent increase, which includes cost of living, over four years. The BCTF says the province is offering a 7.3 per cent increase over six years.
BCTF president Jim Iker says compared to teacher salaries across the country, B.C. teachers place in sixth to ninth place.
The ministry says B.C. has more teachers than jobs. The government wants teacher compensation to be aligned with raises for other public sector unions.
How many hours do teachers work?
Summer break for teachers in Vancouver in 2013-2014 runs June 30 to September. Schools were closed Dec. 23 to Jan. 3 and March 17 to 28.
(Secondary school teachers are to be locked out June 25, 26 and 27; elementary teachers June 27.)
The BCTF estimates teachers spend nine to 12 hours a day preparing lessons, teaching, marking, communicating with parents and helping students.
Full-time teachers reported working an average of 47.8 hours per week, ranging from 30 to 84 hours (an average of 9.56 hours per day over five days) in a survey for the BCTF conducted in 2009 (326 full-time teachers responded.) Part-time teachers reported working an average of 7.3 unpaid hours per week.
Teachers work an average of nine or 9.1 hours a day, according to the B.C. Public Service Employers’ Association. The BCTF wants limits on class size and composition returned to teachers’ contracts.
Classes with more complex needs mean less time to meet the needs of each student. Larger classes mean more time marking.
Student Walkout
Students, who say they are tired of being stuck in the middle of the labour dispute between teachers and the province, have organized a B.C. Student Walkout for Students on June 4, the only day classes across the province are in session.
The walkout is to begin at 9 a.m. with students protesting outside their schools for the remainder of the day.
Goodbye Gordon
General Gordon elementary in Kitsilano is being seismically replaced and the community can celebrate the old school June 7 from 2 to 7 p.m.
